
| The Great Crusades - Damaged Goods |
|
Damaged Goods, the second release from this Chicago band, comes with high expectations. Maybe it’s just me, but any band with the word “great” in the title, deserves high expectations. But Brian Krumm (singer, songwriter) can tell a story with the best of them. This, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen love child, weaves stories of half remembered nights, and slow waking mornings. These aren’t drinking songs, they are drinking anthems. And if I ended the review right there… more than half of you, without hearing it, could tell me what the music sounded like. Which can be a bad thing, but how else is story-telling music supposed to sound? It has to be part folk, part country, and part rock. It’s kind of limited musically by it’s story-telling properties. That being said… it’s still has some great musical moments. The hook of the opening track, Feels so good (to be in bed with you), gets me every time I hear it. They do fall out of step here and there. Bernadette, track 5, is darker than most. Not lyrically, but musically. Don’t know who you are sounds as though it could be from a very (mind you, VERY) seedy musical. You can almost see the scene play out in your mind (I see video residuals in my future). If you like dark and dirty, “I was so drunk, I think this is what happened” songwriting, you might want to give this a spin. But if you aren’t even into Springsteen (shame on you) don’t bother. -jake |